Ultimately, what grows from ordinary gestures is social capital—the quiet trust that makes communities resilient. Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone (2000) chronicles how everyday civic acts, from chatting on porches to helping a neighbor, weave networks that later carry heavier loads. In this light, the “extraordinary” in Neruda’s line is not spectacle but endurance: fewer brittle ties, more shared tools, faster mutual aid when crises come. And because seeds sprout in seasons, we measure progress not by applause but by ease—how naturally a community says yes to help, and how quickly kindness finds its next fertile patch of ground. [...]
